Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Washington Capitals in Game 7, advance to Eastern Conference final

The Pittsburgh Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 7.

After a scoreless first period, Bryan Rust put the Penguins ahead 8:49 into the second period off assists from Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Early in the third period, Patric Hornqvist extended the lead to 2-0 off an assist from Justin Schultz.

The #penguins strike first in #Game7! It took nearly half the game, but a Bryan Rust goal puts Pittsburgh up 1-0! #nhlplayoffs pic.twitter.com/huqz1DfX5M

Pittsburgh once held a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal, but dropped Game 5 on the road and Game 6 at home. The Penguins played one of their worst playoff games in recent memory in Monday’s Game 6, falling behind 5-0 before losing 5-2.

Pittsburgh improved its record to 6-0 all-time on the road in Game 7s. It’s the best postseason record in NHL, NBA or MLB history, according to ESPN.

For the second time in Penguins’ history, the team that won Game 6 of a best-of-seven series didn’t also take Game 7. It last happened in 2009 when the Capitals won Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal, but the Penguins took Game 7 and then went on to win the Stanley Cup.